Endeavor Group Holdings shares fell on Tuesday in a much bigger drop than the market at large. The company’s stock was down almost 8% in the afternoon and closed at a nearly 6% loss after a video surfaced showing UFC president Dana White slapping his wife, Anne, at a New Year’s Eve party in Mexico. The mixed martial arts promotion company is owned by Endeavor (NYSE: EDR) and doubles as one of its most profitable businesses.
UFC declined to comment. A representative for Endeavor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sports, media and entertainment giant purchased a stake in UFC in 2016 for $4 billion—in a deal done with KKR and Silver Lake—and took full ownership of the popular MMA property in 2021 as part of its second bid to go public. White was once an equity holder in UFC; Endeavor acquired 100% of the company upon completion of its purchase.
The video of White hitting his wife was first published by TMZ. White, who has served as UFC’s president since 2001, issued a public apology Monday. Speaking to TMZ, White said he regrets the altercation and that there are “no excuses” for his behavior.
“You’ve heard me say over the years: There is never, ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman, and now here I am on TMZ talking about it,” White said. “This is one of those situations that’s horrible, I’m embarrassed—but it’s also one of those situations that right now we’re more concerned about our kids. We have three kids and obviously, since the video popped up, we’ve shown the kids the video and we’re more focused on our family right now.”
Anne White also said the altercation, during which she slapped Dana White before he slapped her back, was an isolated incident in a separate statement to TMZ. She attributed it to “drinking too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of control, on both sides.”
UFC is a high-cash flow business for Endeavor, which also owns talent agencies IMG and William Morris. Endeavor’s business spans from event management and data collection to media-rights consulting and content production.
